Thursday, Oct.13th I am picking up a dismantled loom from a gentleman that is giving it a way to someone that would like to put it back together and get it into working order. He said for some reason previous owners sawed off the flying shuttle ends. I believe he's got the company name wrong, though I will find out for sure tomorrow. He called it a Macomber Weavers Delight / 4 harness / 46" weave loom. Of course my research says Newcomb was the designer of the loom. Rugs / fine weaving.

Does anyone own one of these looms? Have any info that you could share with me?

Thanks!

Comments

jennybellairs

Did you ever get your questions answered about the loom you were going to pick up last October?  I have one that I just restored.  I just finished my first 8 yard warp a couple days ago.  I have a lot of photos of the restoration process on my blog, jennybellairs.blogspot.com

Jenny in Charlevoix the Beautiful

Bluemeadow Rondi

I have one and am about to do the same. It happens that part of the mechanism (flying shuttle) is broken. It's cast iron and well, I don't use the shuttle anyways as the shafts don't raise the warp high enough it so gets stuck. The point being that it's all in the way adding weight and taking up an extra 2 1/2 feet of space. If anyone is interested in the shuttles, cans and stuff I hope to sell them.

steve104c (not verified)

A couple of months ago I bought two Weaver's Delights. They were in un-fixable condition. So I took them apart and now have a lot of pieces. If you need a part, send me a picture of the broken part and I may have a replacement part. You only have to pay for shipping. One was built around 1898 and the other around 1908. Lots of metal parts..............Steve.

Sonyour

I'm trying to locate this part...this part works the harness up and down. Anyone have or know where to get one, please call or text 812-878-7546. 

MollyB

Steve, I am hunting for cams for my Weaver's Delight. Do you still have any available? I realize it's a long shot but fingers crossed! Thanks, Molly

spsguy (not verified)

It looks like I may be about to inherit a weavers delight.  Sounds like it may have a couple issue so I may be looking for parts soon.  Will let you know - troyce

spsguy (not verified)

I did get the Weaver's Delight loom.  It left the factory on June 14, 1928.  There are some worn parts but over all it's pretty good shape.  Have been in touch with Leslie that's where I got the information.  Will start tear down later today and will see what needs replaced and what is okay to use.  My wife wasn't too happy when I said I'd take the loom but as soon as I looked it up online I knew I had to have it.  And she likes it too now that she has seen it.  And I'm am passing along one of my other big floor looms so that helped. 

 

Tammy Kero

I have a Newcomb Weavers Delight loom and I am trying to figure out how much warp I need to order. I have a rug that was woven on the loom with 224 warp strings running the length of it...and it measures about 27" wide....I understand that it probably shrunk a bit after coming off the loom. I have never warped a loom before, so would greatly appreciate any help that can be offerred.

jennybellairs

If this is your first ever use of a loom, you need to get some basic knowledge under your belt before starting.  Besides the basics, including all of the terminology that goes with itk, you also need to know something about winding warp onto a sectional warp beam.  There is a lot of information in the Weaver's Delight manual, and you will want to heed their cautions.  The WD is a different animal.  Check out YouTube videos for other information.

Do you have the two warp spool stands that were standard with the loom?

Do you have an idea of what you want to weave?

My first warp on my WD (after years of experience on other looms) was a pattern recommended to me by another rug weaver.  It is called Chicken Tracks and alternates three dark and three light threads.  Chicken Tracks, or Double Seed can be found in the Rag Rug Handbook, pg 69.  Heddles are threaded 1-2-1 with the dark alternated with 4-3-4 with the light warp.  

I have a 12 dent reed and warped my loom with 27 ends in each section.  You will need one spool of rug warp yarn for each end in the section.  It will require purchasing 15 spools of each color.  Every other section will have 15 dark and 12 light.  The other sections will have 15 light and 12 dark.  Great Northern Weaving in Kalamazoo, Michigan sells rug warp at a good price.  I use their poly/cotton warp and have been happy with it.

Check out my blog, http://jennybellairs.blogspot.com/ for lots of information about the Weaver's Delight and to check out my first rugs with Chicken Tracks.  There is a search box to help you find the information you need. 

You will probably have a lot more questions.  Don't be afraid to ask.  You may want to join RugTalk in the Yahoo groups and the Rug Weavers group on Facebook.  Both are very active.  

Jenny in Charlevoix the Beautiful where we are STILL almost completely snow covered!

Gone

Hi Steve.  I acquired a WD loom back in February and have given it a good restoration. Everything works, but the fly shuttles were 'removed' (not sawn off) prior to me obtaining it. It will work fine for rugs, but I'm interested in the metal cams. The ones I have on the loom will only allow plain weave. I was looking for the half-round cams, or the single point cams. I have the double point. So my loom is set up like a  cross '+'. That's fine for rugs, but nothing else. If you have any of the other cams and wish to unload them, let me know. 

Regards,

Tom Zyrkowski

I'm in IL - 60018 area code

CedarHillWovens

Been away from here for quite sometime.
Since I first posted about acquiring a WD loom from a gentleman for free I acquired a second one. The first is missing the flying shuttle for sure. It was sawn off by previous owners in a guild. The second one I purchased for $50.00 from a elderly lady and it's complete and works but needs a lot of tender loving care. It has it's flying shuttle. Also, it came with all or nearly all accessories such as the spool rack and a tiny stool, can rack and much more. Between the two I should be able to make one completely working loom. 

jennybellairs

Tom, some sources to try to obtain the missing cams are:

Rugtalk (a Yahoo group)

Weaving Sales Ads (another Yahoo group)

Rug Weavers (Facebook group)

Leslie Johnson at Riverside Loomworks,

Address: 2721 S Michigan Rd, Eaton Rapids, MI 48827Phone:(517) 663-0357I especially like the quarter circle cams, since they allow twill variations.Jenny in Charlevoix the Beautiful

Gone

Update:  I was able to weave 8 placemats and 6 rugs on the WD. Jenny is right, the WD loom is a different animal. Very sturdy and very heavy. It's a weaving machine more than just a loom. It was a good experience that I'd recommend to anyone interested in them, who has the space. My space was limited.

I just sold the WD loom to a lady in Michigan. She's very happy with it and is attending a guild with a couple of them so she'll have info and assistance if she needs it. Old 'Gus' has a new home and will be making rugs again soon.

And Jenny Bellairs, Leslie Johnson, Janet Meany, Theresa Trebon, you are all outstanding people! Your unselfish efforts have made sure this unique loom is understood and appreciated! The next generation of weavers has sound information and experience to help them should they run into one of these looms! My hat is off to you all! You helped me a great deal.

My own experience with the WD loom was that while the fly shuttle feature may have made the loom zippy, I still found that I could weave up a rug in only a couple hours without it. The cloth advance system was dyno-mite! The shed was huge and the loom maintained a good tension all on its own. I suspect (just my opinion) thatthe additional size, mechanics and weight of the fly shuttle system was what led to folks remove them. Adjustments, additional proprietary accessories and shuttle cans for the fly shuttle system, the pony, all combined to lessen the attractiveness of this loom, ultimately leading to its decline. But there was still a good loom left without the fly shuttle system, and it still worked very well. So the WD loom is a good loom whether a FS or hand thrown. The cams are the real key.

And the wisdom, knowledge and generosity of these great ladies should not be underestimated. They've all performed a great service to the art of weaving and the preservation of important and historic Americana. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for urging me onward!

Tom Z.

 

 

 

cetacea (not verified)

Hey everyone that owns a Weaver's Delight...

How many of you would be interested in having the other cams made?  I'm missing cams, 3-6, 11 and 12.  I know who has the original molds but we would need people to pool together to get them poured and finished--so I'm asking if there is any interest from the group that owns these wonderful looms.  

I don't remember my Yahoo log in or password--so if someone wants to forward this interest on the rug talk group I'd appreciate it.  

If we get enough people together, it would make it worthwile to see if the foundry will do a limited run on each of the cams.  I know a shop or two that can finish them too.

jwms

not familiar with this loom but cams can be made out of the appropriate thickness of stock steel plate. any local metal shop should be able to cut them out for cheap. granted, they will not look like the originals, but it will get you back in the swing of things!!!

PatBingham

I've just had some cams cast and they're at the machine shop to finish up. I'll send them on to a very experienced Weavers Delight owner who will test them. If they work well, I'll start getting more made for other folks. Go here to get more info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/437504939962184/    

MollyB

Pat,

The Facebook link didn't seem to work for me, maybe I did something wrong.  Did you ever get the cams?  Did they work? 

I just got my Weavers Delight out of storage and will be putting it back together soon.  I know I don't have the full set of cams, and would be delighted to be able to get some.  Will most likely  need some other parts if anyone has a source!

Happy Weaving,

Molly

Tammy Kero

Did you ever get in contact with anyone able to make new cams for the Weaver's Delight? I am missing some and would love to get them replaced....just got my loom running again--first time since 2001 and would like to learn how to do something other than plain weave.  I may need a few more parts too!

Sonyour

Needing to purchase this part, have tried to contact Leslie Johnson Riverside Loom Works, Eaton Rapids, Michigan but with no luck.  If you know where else to find this part ease contact me. 812-878-7546. Thank you.

Sonyour

I am in need of a part....I have my old part and can have it rebuilt but I need a photo of one in good working order and the measurements especially the hole area.  It's Part#B it is a cast iron or cast steel 16- 1/2" long used to move the harness up and down. Could you help me out?
Cellphone 812-878-7546 call/text
Brazil, Indiana

MimzySarah

We are real novices with this Weavers Delight loom.  I would love some help on trying to make this loom work.  Is there someone I can call?  We finally strated weaving, but think I might be missing a part because the weft does not pack together tightly.

Erinphillips

I recently got a 103 year old weaver’s Delight loom from a woman who had disassembled it. We are trying to figure out how it all goes back together. A couple questions we have so far: - how many of the little metal things that hold the warp go on each harness? I’m working on cleaning the rust off of them now. - when you pull the lay forward, the rack rises and turns the star wheel to the left but it doesn’t seem to turn far enough; so when you push the lay back and the rack lowers it catches the star wheel and pulls it back down to the right. This means the cams just turn back and forth instead of rotating around. Any ideas on how to adjust this to work properly?

sandra.eberhar…

The Glimakra website has information on different kinds of looms and  shows you what the different parts are called.  It won't give you specific information about the cams and parts to your Weavers Delight loom, but you are more likely to get help here if we know what you are talking about.  Moving the lay forward?  What do you mean by lay?  Various parts of the loom have defined names, and they are the same for all types of looms.

If you do a search, you can find a lot of links to instructions for use and assembly of these looms.

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